Mini-doughnuts (in Seattle)

I don't know when I had time to surf the Web in Seattle, but somehow I ended up on the fabulous Vegan Yum Yum blog and became obsessed with the idea of making gnocchi and mini doughnuts—or at least with the idea of owning a gnocchi board and some mini-doughnut pans. Not long after the obsession set in, I found myself in an upscale cookware store with T and Babycakes and would you believe — they had both items. I bought one of each. The gnocchi board was cheap and I mean to use it in the near future. I only bought one mini-doughnut pan, reasoning that I could get another in Madison if it really appeared I would make mini-doughnuts. Well, I did make the minis in Seattle! I used the recipe from Vegan Yum Yum with a slight twist. I decided that instead of making a chocolate glaze I would make chocolate chip doughnuts. I didn't realize the batter would be warm enough to instantly melt the chips, creating chocolate mini-doughnuts! And being the vegan health-nut that I am, I used whole wheat pastry flour. I wish I had photographed them (very cute) instead of just the pan now that I'm home, but go look at the amazing photos on Vegan Yum Yum and you'll understand why I was so captivated. The minis were delicious by the way, and I intend to make them again — this time with a glaze. I have to say that it was a challenge getting the batter into the pan without covering up the center posts. When the doughnuts came out of the pan, the tops were a little weird and nearly closed, but the bottoms looked like baby doughnuts. I've never made these before so maybe it's bottoms up where baked doughnuts are concerned.

By the way, lest you think all we ate in Seattle were Chinese food, doughnuts and ginger bars, Ken also made farro soup, Tuscan stew and enchiladas. And our son made some great, savory black-eyed peas that I will try to make this weekend from his very sketchy recipe.

UPDATE:

Here's my latest attempt at the mini-doughnut thing. I did a much better job getting the batter into the pan (by using a teaspoon), so the tops looked like doughnuts this time, and I didn't have to turn them upside down. And I put the melted chocolate chips on top instead of inside. Still, I'll never be the sort of baker whose products win oohs and ahs for appearance - except maybe for my breads. These tasted really good, but next time I think I'll make them a little less sweet. And I tried thinning the batter a little before baking the second batch (still only have one pan) and the appearance of the baked doughnuts was much smoother. The texture was better, too. Perhaps the whole wheat pastry flour needs a thinner batter. In any case, the little doughnuts didn't last long!

Piers Morgan is the Celebrity Apprentice

It's very gratifying to offer live blogging and have so many different locations appear in real time on our Live Feed. Heartfelt thanks to everyone who took a break from their busy Thursday night schedules to join Moan Quivers, virtual Hollywood correspondent, as she reported live from the red carpet.

Donald Trump and his progeny deserve a pat on the back for setting up and pulling off a live two hour show. This type of television is always risky. To their credit, the finale was an enjoyable romp showcasing major celebrities like the Duchess of York and Simon Cowell.

But the promos fell overboard, especially in light of the final delivery.

"Good v. Evil."

"U.S. v. U.K."

"Piers v. Omarosa."

"Trace v. The Backstreet Boys, a/k/a The BSB."

"Wheat grass juice and black fingernail polish v. Marlboro Man sensibilities."

To be fair, in some respects, the live finale lived up to the hype which is good because I don't think I could stomach another "pass the baton" sort of show, you know, that feeble attempt to rebrand with Martha Stewart going nowhere fast. The finale's taped segments about the two charities were terrific. And that's the meat of this celebrity version of the show, really, helping worthwhile causes. Trump's last minute money raising ideas, the texting and online auction, were delicious icing on the cake. Hopefully, the finale's success will translate into larger ratings for a second celebrity season.

But give me a break, everyone knows the show is loosely scripted, at least in part. The celebrities are superfluous fluff to attract an audience. With all the promos and build-up to the finale, couldn't they have peppered Ms. Manigault-Stallworth with better lines as a parting shot to Piers? Her drivel about not liking the unpopular winner because he didn't floss was a true waste of wind. Even Trump noticeably winced and chastised her for ending the show with something downright stupid.

Look, in the interests of fair disclousre, I'm not a fan of Omarosa. Not many people are. She's had her fifteen minutes as far as I'm concerned and hasn't done much with them since. If you're producing a show called The Celebrity Apprentice, then you have to expect your audience wants to see a battle between real celebrities. Obviously, the Trump organization has a soft spot in its heart for the woman it earnestly tried to launch into fame, but enough is enough. Let's hope the franchise doesn't repeat this mistake in season two.

If it's villains they're looking for, why not throw a bone to contentious down-and-out bona fide celebrities like Rosie O'Donnell? Talk about a show with the potential for big ratings. Now there's something worth tuning in for.

Eating out in Seattle

There are more vegan and vegetarian restaurants in Seattle than I can believe. The choices go from quirky to gourmet and we've dined in the whole range of options from the weirdest to the toniest. You can find many vegan Chinese and Thai establishments as well as vegan sandwich shops, pizza places and bakeries. We've had an elegant dinner at Carmelita and a wedding brunch at Café Flora. We've enjoyed Chinese food at Bamboo Garden and sandwiches from Hillside Quickies. One of the oddest places (said fondly) we ever ate was a throwback to the sixties called Good Morning Healing Earth and was owned by a Vietnam veteran named George. George did the cooking and joined in the conversations in his one-room converted first floor of a house. He had sound equipment in one corner for open-mike music nights. I'd describe the food as hearty American-style vegan with ethnic overtones. George had a Vitamix that he used to make amazing all-fruit ice cream that he served over waffles. He once told us that his dream was to save some money, sell the restaurant and move to Hawaii. Sadly, that never happened. George died some years ago and the restaurant has changed hands and names several times. We've never been back since George died, so I don't know what it's like now.

We ate out three times in two different places on this visit. Sunday night in Seattle we passed on our usual vegan favorites to eat at a neighborhood Chinese restaurant that serves mostly Asian diners who order in Chinese from a Chinese menu. (We had an infant with us and wanted to be conveniently close to home.) N, who has been to China, said the food is pretty authenic. In addition to the regular menu and the Chinese menu, they have a vegetarian menu. (Yay Seattle) The first night we went there we had ma po tofu, home-made noodles with veggies, szechwan eggplant, dry-cooked string beans, and yuba wrapped mushrooms. Unfortunately, I forgot to take photos before we gobbled everything up, so we had to return a second night. Oh darn. The photo above is my plate on the second visit. It has Chinese broccoli with enoki and black mushrooms, tofu with broccoli and the mushroom stuffed yuba, which, in addition to the noodles, we had to get again.

When we tried to order Chinese broccoli the first night, the waiter talked us out of it, saying Americans don't like it because it's too bitter. We knew he was wrong about us but we went along with his suggestions. Our waitress on the second visit didn't question our choices, and this time we got it. Yum. We also had pea vine, but the photo is kind of scary, unlike the actual dish, so I'm posting only the Chinese broccoli. (above)

The thick and chewy homemade noodles are definitely on my list of things to try at home. I used to make noodles often and it's really not hard. I was also very fond of the tofu (below) but deep frying at home is not really my thing.

The last dish I want to try to make is the yuba wrapped mushrooms. Yuba is also called bean curd sheets or bean curd sticks and is made by skimming off the film that forms on the surface of heated soymilk, and drying it. You can find it in Asian markets as sheets, or rolled into long tube shapes — bean curd sticks. I've used the sticks before but not the sheets - something new to learn.

The restaurant is in North Seattle and is called Chiang's Gourmet. Try it if you're in Seattle.

We visited the vegan lunch buffet the following Saturday at Araya Vegan Thai Restaurant. I kept forgetting to photograph my beautiful plate of food, and when I went back to the buffet to take pictures, it was so crowded I couldn't see the selections. So, I have photographed my dessert, which I didn't like and didn't eat. It was some sort of mooshy banana thing with coconut cream that looked good. I put some slightly sweetened crispy noodles on top and those were actually very good in an interesting way. You did notice that I said vegan Thai buffet? No joke.
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Live Blogging Live Two Hour Finale of The Celebrity Apprentice

Come one. Come all. For the conclusion of tonight's live Celebrity Apprentice two-hour episode, our virtual Hollywood correspondent, Moan Quivers, will be live blogging the show right here on this site. No tweets.

Join us at 8:55 p.m. EST this evening (approximately five and a half hours from now) as Moan gives a blow-by-blow report with commentary of the riveting face-off between bloated Brit Piers Morgan, and Marlboro Man crooner Trace Adkins. Promos have also promised a cameo appearance of Omarosa Manigault-Stallworth (a/k/a Stinkaroma) in the final boardroom.

It's U.S. v. U.K. Refresh this article as Moan provides the inside scoop.





8:56 p.m. Settling in with the big screen TV, a glass of diet root beer with ice, and the laptop. Moan Quivers here. Snarky commentary with a smidgen of reporting thrown in for good measure. It's the live two-hour season finale of The Celebrity Apprentice. Everyone here predicts Piers Morgan, the pompous British patootey, will emerge victorious.

The only thing is, we can't quite figure out what that means. Prestige? Money for charity? A trophy from The Donald? We're all about to find out.

9:05 p.m. - "We started with 14 celebrities and we're down to 2," says The Donald. Children, Donald, Jr. and Ivanka, weigh in with their two cents about who might win. Over a million dollars has been raised for the charities. The Donald says he is looking forward to the big fight. Pre-recorded portions of their battle now play. The live audience cheers as the walls of the board room are raised to reveal their presence.

9:08 p.m. - Trace Adkins is here to raise money for severe food allergies. Piers is raising money for "Intrepid Fallen Heroes." The Donald characterizes the fight as "Good v. evil, U.K. v. U.S."

On Trace's team is Lennox Lewis and Marilu Henner. Piers Morgan's team consists of Stephen Baldwin and Carol Alt. The Backstreet Boys will perform. But one of them wants wheat grass before the show. Trace acts like this is some kind of drug. He sniffs his nose at him and rolls his eyeballs.

Oh come on, Marlboro Man, wheat grass. It's good for you. Ever been to the health food store?

9:11 p.m. Off to commercial. Self-help yourself with Larry. An advertisement to quit your job and do what you like. Kind of like what I did when I took this virtual Hollywood correspondent's job. Having a blast but working for peanuts. What could be better?

9:12 p.m. And we're back. Text "Trump" to 30101 and help the charities for Trace and Piers. You'll donate a dollar to text and help raise money. Nice touch.

9:16 p.m. Piers is calling on favors. He contacts Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber and Fergie, Duchess of York for a prize or to bid for a prize. He's calling people he knows and people he doesn't really know at all. If I got a call for him, I'd probably laugh and hang up.

Aw, in the luxury van, Stephen compliments Piers for his fund raising skills. And Piers apologizes to Stevie B. if he has offended him. Yuk. It's bad enough these two lingered in a long handshake. It looked like, for a minute, Piers might lean over and kiss Baldwin like he did with Trace in the boardroom the episode Stinkaroma was fired. Thank goodness it didn't happen.

But now Trace is griping about the black fingernail polish he has to buy for one of the Backstreet boys. I never realized Trace was so out of it. I happen to love black fingernails, on men or women. Grow up!

9:20 p.m. Stevie B. has no friends. Of the 50 tickets Piers has to sell or give away, Baldwin is only able to bring in 5 people. Somehow, I can see why people stay away. Stevie B. may have an engaging smile, but that big gold cross on his chest, I know he's a minister and everything, but very ostentatious. Still, what about Piers's friends? Did they all drop off the face of the earth? And Carol? What? Not one of them knows anybody who can buy a ticket? Oy. This must be staged.

On to commercial.

9:23 p.m. And they're back. Before the last cut to commercial, they showed the boardroom. There was Stinky. All done up in a flashing pink suit. This time, she actually looked tasteful. Surprising. In all the other episodes, she looked like a common slut.

Remaining cool under pressure is crucial in business and in life, says the Donald. Roll the tape of past episodes.

9:27 p.m. Well, I called that one wrong. They're rolling tape of Trace under pressure for this final event. Trace says the pressure was due to the lack of time and need for more of it.

Aw, here's Trace's two little girls and his wife. Came out of nowhere. Wow! They are really pretty. Especially the 6-year old with the food allergy. The one he's trying to win money for. Just love their little fake chinchilla jackets. Do they have another one in size 12?

9:32 p.m. "Loaded celebrities means lots of money." This is Piers's mantra and the one he's teaching to the wait staff. Get everyone drunk. It's crucial.

The red carpet is out and people are starting to arrive. One of the "BSB" has "twisted his little knee," says Trace. He's still trying to find wheat grass juice and he needs to get something for the little BSB's knee. Trace says working with them has given himself more appreciation for himself. "Don't get me started on the BSB," Trace admonishes as the audience breaks out in loud applause.

"I've performed when my stomach was doubled over, had to go to the hospital, and they cut out 18 inches of my colon. But the BSB (Back Street Boys) won't perform because one of them doesn't have their wheat grass juice! Give me a break." Okay. Okay, Marlboro Man, we get it. You're a trooper. The BSB are not. Or maybe they're staging all of this for the show to get your gander up. Just stay cool. It will all be okay.

On to commercial.

9:36 p.m. And they're back.

Ticket sales. Auction sales. And overall, let's just see how they do. These are the criteria on which Piers and Trace will be judged. Trace is responsible for the band, the decorations, and party atmosphere. Piers is responsible for the auction.

Dean Samms, Eddie Montgomery, Ronnie Milsap, Trace's hommies are here. Nice. The Grand 'Ol Oprey and private people came from all over to show support and give Trace money. $5,000.00. $10,000.00. Trace may pull this off afterall.

9:42 p.m. Trace's item for the Super Bowl item sells for $18K. Once in a lifetime chance to enjoy royal tea with Fergie, Piers's item, sells for $100K - to the boss of Cantor Fitzgerald, who is standing there with members of the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund. A dinner with Trace Adkins sells for $6K to Ivanka, who loves Trace. A night with the Osbourne's and if over $50K, Ozzy will fly his band anywhere in the country to play - Piers's item - sells to the same Cantor Fitzgerald guy for $100K.

Now how do the pompous Brit and this nice Jewish boy go together? Personally, even though I usually love the British accent, every time Piers opens his mouth, I want to stuff a rag in it.

9:45 p.m. Somehow, some way, Simon Cowell is involved in the series finale event. They say he's going to bid big for the auction. And he's in the back pocket of Piers. Oh, the British. They'll do anything to make the cowboy look bad. But don't discount the money they stuck in the cowboy's pocket.

Ha! They just cut to the green room with all the fired contestants and Stinkaroma was the only one sitting there stuffing her face with food. That's right Omarosa, stuff yourself now. It's the last expensive food you're going to see for a while.

9:49 p.m. Lunch with Ivanka bid for $20K. Ooo - item for Piers - but....

Here's Simon. Appearing by phone from London - bidding $100K - he takes it away. Trace finds the whole thing distasteful. Can't blame him. That bloated pompous Brit, he's so full of himself. He's tooting his own horn about how good he is at fund raising. Can I kick him? I'd like to kick him in the pants.

The Backstreet Boys performance turns out to be pretty good. Even without the wheat grass juice. I still say the whole thing was a ruse. Dig the black fingernails.

9:53 p.m. Mmmmmm, as I sit here through the many commercials, I'm thinking that the decorations looked a little sparse. Who was in charge of that? Marilu? If I remember correctly, Lennox raced her through that. So, Trace's team may get graded down on the look of the party.

It wasn't that packed either. Plenty of room for people to mill about. Why didn't the celebs try selling tickets to normal people? They could have packed that place! What? The little people couldn't mingle with the "beautiful" people. Does anyone else find that offensive?

9:55 p.m. Howard Lutnick and other partners of Cantor Fitzgerald will be matching all text donations tonight in an amount up to $250K - split between both charities. Call people! Call! This is a good way to give money and be part of the show.

Erin Burnett and Jim Kramer were just introduced. I have no idea who they are. Not. Isn't one of them with that Mad Money show?

10:04 p.m. And they're back. In the boardroom. Ivanka mentions how Piers choosing Stevie B. for his team was risky since they didn't work so well together and Baldwin specifically asked not to work with him any more. The Donald mentions how Lennox jumped ship to go work with Trace. Piers mentions that makes total sense since Lennox is a laid back sort.

Oh - I'm not so sure about that. They should probably stick Piers in the ring with Lennox. He acts so tuff. I give him about 30 seconds with Lennox.

$64K v. $364K - for the auction items, Piers wins.

$38K v. $12K - for the ticket sales, Trace wins.

Simon and The Donald are friends. I think so much money came in from Simon, not because of Piers, but because Simon likes The Donald, and that Simon wanted to donate the money to charity. Piers always wants to make it all about him. This guy is the guru of self-promotion.

Okay. Okay. And now Piers and Trace are resenting one another. Gag. Piers wants Trace to take it back that he was somehow belittling Trace's donors. OMG! If looks could kill, I think Trace just gave Piers the death blow. Is it over now? Can we all go home?

10:07 p.m. Welcome back. Live. To the season finale of The Celebrity Apprentice.

10:10 p.m. Who was responsible for the food?" queries the Donald, "because I didn't see any."

"That was deliberate," said Piers. "To get everyone tipsy so that they would bid more at the auction."

Baldwin denigrates Piers for shaking money out of people by getting them drunk. Piers fires back.

"He's not the only Christian in the room. He doesn't have a monopoly on Christianity," laments Piers. The Donald makes fun of Piers for sweating and sweating a lot. The audience laps it up.

10:15 p.m. The Donald calls on Trace for his take on the "good v. evil" and the "good, the bad, and the ugly" theme of the show. "Who's the ugly?" baits The Donald. Luckily, no one points to any of the women. Lennox volunteers as the ugly, but he's soooooo wrong. Lennox is actually very hot. And a good dresser.

Trace says that there have been times when Piers treated people in a questionable manner. For that reason, he's the better person to be the Celebrity Apprentice.

Piers defends himself by saying that he's playing a business game, not a popularity game. Piers says he's done the best by raising more money. He's in it for the money. He's in it for making the event the best. I suppose Piers is not so bad after all. He is, after all, doing this for charity. How can you not like someone who goes to all these lengths for charity?

"This is tough," says The Donald. "This is the toughest thing I've had to do in a long time. Get Piers and Trace ready! I'm ready to choose."

Eh....the whole thing is a crock. Celebrity apprentice? What's the apprentice part? I'm all for raising money for charity, but call the show for what it is. A way to strut lesser known and non-celebrities (Stinkaroma), and raise a lot of money for charity. Also to keep The Donald in the public eye. That's all. Nothing more.

10:17 p.m. Nice guy, Trace Adkins, enters the room. The audience goes wild.

Ruthless intelligence, and vicious guy, Piers Morgan, come on down! The audience boos.

10:20 p.m. The Donald starts off by asking Trace what he thinks about Piers. Trace doesn't like him or think very much of him. Piers compliments Trace and says he thinks he's a great guy.

"I'm an evil and obnoxious disgusting Brit," says Piers. "I don't mind."

Now The Donald brings out the fired celebrities. When Baldwin walks out the audience boos. Ha!

10:27 p.m. Everyone is there in the live boardroom except Gene Simmons who is shooting a movie. Then The Donald calls out Stinkaroma. OMG. She stands there like she's a super hero. She has this sparkling pink lipstick to match her outfit. I think she looks like a candy cane with mold.

Now The Donald asks Lennox what he thinks about Piers and Trace. Lennox equivocates. He thinks they're both good. But in the end, he gives kudos to Piers. Maybe it's true. Nice guys finish last.

Carol Alt is going head to head with The Donald. I agree with her. She should have been one of the final celebrities. Clearly, she has more respect for Piers.

"Stevie B. wasn't doing so well, and now he's a big star when he walks down the street," says The Donald. I was wrong. The Donald is and remains the guru of self-promotion.

Everyone is asked to raise their hand. Who do they like better? The votes go majority for Trace. So Trace is Mr. Popularity. But, let's face it. This wasn't a popularity contest. It was a contest to do the best in raising money. And as much as people dislike him, I think they have to admit that Piers did the best job.

Piers should win. But they still have to hear from Gene who is filming a movie in Japan. Stay tuned.

10:36 p.m. Wow. They are still skating outside in New York. Cut back to the live boardroom.

What is Gene Simmons's sign? "Dollar sign, baby," he replies. They are going through Gene's outtakes. Love that snake tongue.

And now here is Gene from Tokyo, Japan. Gene speaks Japanese, but it sounds like he just said some praise for Hamas....mmmm...no...couldn't be. Jeff Hazlett, an executive from Kodak is here too. Jeff says Gene was wrong about the task he lost, the one for Kodak. Kodak doubled its sales with the promotion from the winning team, Hydra. Gene is a shrewd businessman, but not shrewd enough. He lost early in the game. Why does his opinion matter?

"A tug of the heart, that's what Trace Adkins embodies, that 'aw shucks' source of demeanor," says Gene. Who does Gene pick? Trace, of course. Is this really about Mom, apple pie, and the American flag? Or are we talking about the person who was better raising money for charity? Clearly, it was not Trace. Sorry, Mom.

10:42 p.m. Nice touch. They did a piece on Trace's charity. Food allergies. Seeing his little girl in an oxygen mask, aw, I wanna cry. Give him the money already! Stop pulling on everyone's heart strings!

And now Trace is performing a country song. Wow! Nice thick baritone. Beautiful sound. I had never heard him sing before. He's really amazing!

Oh for goodness sakes, we all know the show wants to give the money to Trace, so just do it! Besides, Piers's charity already got some money - mostly because Piers is such an amazing fund raiser. Trace's charity has gotten nothing up until now. Really, the nice guy has not been able to pull off a win.

So, just give the money to the little girl in the fake chinchilla coat and let's all call it a day, shall we?

Oh. Wait. Go to iTunes now to download "You're Gonna Miss This" and all the money raised will go to Trace's charity. The offer is good for two weeks. I guess if The Donald ends up picking the bloated disgusting Brit, this will be Trace's booby prize.

10:50 p.m. And now they are giving equal time to Piers's charity. The Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund. Shane and Matthew have no legs and Matthew is blind. They're fallen heroes. I agree. Never thought I would see a bloated Brit advocating for American soldiers. Maybe I shouldn't apologize to Mom after all. If Piers wins, the American flag wins too. Fallen heroes from America. The flag flies in the background. And now some of the fallen soldiers are here on the live show. How can you not feel sorry for people who give limbs and lives to protect our freedoms?

The audience gives them a standing ovation. Rightfully so.

Okay, Piers should get the money. But right now, he's going home with a special coin from the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Center. Looked like a poker marker. I Wonder if he can gamble it at the craps table in Trump's Atlantic City casino.

An auction on nbc.com slash something having to do with the Celebrity Apprentice will go to The Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund. So, even if Trace wins, you can help raise money for the charity by spending your little heart out. Go consume, all you consumers. Consume for charity!

10:52 p.m. Oy vey! I am so torn. Chichilla coat little girl whose Daddy hasn't raised any money at all for her charity or soldiers who are blind with no legs who have already gotten money from a successful fund raiser. Who should win? Who?

Split it! Go ahead, The Donald, do a split. It's only fair!

10:58 p.m. The Donald is throwing in $250K of his own money for the winner's charity. So cool.

Trace says he is all for Piers's charity. But contrast that for the food allergy network. He represents 3 million fathers. They want that money. The fund will help save their children's lives. That's why they should win. Cry me a river. If it was solely up to me, they'd have the money already. Poor swollen throated little angels. Give those people the money!

Piers says this was not a good guy competition, it was a business competition with a premium for raising money for charity. He won 9 out of the 11 challenges given to him. He raised over $500M and had one of the biggest slaughters in the history of show. Killed everyone on all the business challenges. He believes he has integrity and doesn't think it should be called into question.

"But you were not loved, "says The Donald. "Does that mean anything to you?"

"No," said Piers. "You're not loved either." Touche.

Ivanka says that Piers lacks tact and that he's distracted. So, that's why she supports Trace.

Donald, Jr. says the use of the roladex is what allowed Piers to win. Down to the wire. Last minute here. The Donald rushes everyone along.

11:00 p.m. As predicted. Piers is The Celebrity Apprentice. Whoops erupt in the audience. Confetti falls. In the end, The Donald could not ignore his fund raising prowess. Not much time left for the wrap party. Wondering how The Donald managed to squander so much time in a live two-hour show. He should have reserved more time for the end. Not all of the fired celebrities had a chance to voice their choice for the winner. I'm feeling a little gyped here.

The Donald bids everyone a fond farewell and says they will be back next season. "We're going to be here for a long time," says The Donald. Yeah. Right. He hopes. Before they came up with this concept for a celebrity show, The Apprentice was done. Dead in the water. Was that crane accident in any way related to a project that was run by one of the other apprentices chosen on the show?

Keep bringing in the hot celebrities and I would say The Donald is right, actually, about future shows. This could be like Dancing With the Stars and continue into perpetuity.

It's been a blast live blogging this, everyone. Thanks for tuning in. And I'll be back for next season as well. Stay tuned.

Breakfast with Jeff Pulver in Baltimore

In an out-of-the-way section of downtown Baltimore, at the crossroads of Guilford and E. Saratoga, almost touching the inside west of the JFX, sits an oasis of bygone days. Plentiful parking, brick pavement accents, and a rectangular hunk of silver and neon once serving as a movie set for Barry Levinson's Diner. The Hollywood Diner, to be precise, a little known eatery serving "Breakfast with Jeff Pulver."

I spot thirty or so people milling about inside as I enter the crosswalk. The place may have started off packed like sardines, but I'm more than an hour late, who knows? Thankfully there is now room to stretch and breathe. But then, I'm not intending to set any new world records. I'm here to network, have a good time, and press the flesh with THE Jeff Pulver, a larger than life Internet persona, start-up tech investor, and distributor of killer social tags.

Preconceived notions of his popular breakfast parties and the myth behind the man swirl about in my head. Who exactly is Jeff Pulver? Why do Internet movers and shakers flock to his gatherings? And more mysteriously, how did a person closer to my age than the majority of people filling this diner amass a Facebook friend network to put any Hollywood celebrity, real or fake, to shame?


After about an hour of making small talk and exchanging cards, opportunity comes knocking. The diner is emptying out and Jeff, dressed in a festive yellow Hawaiian shirt, turns away from the attractive brunette who's been occupying his time. It's my cousin, Greg, but no matter. Seizing my opening, I deftly move into Jeff's line of vision, introduce myself, and request a short interview.

"About how long will it take," Jeff responds quizzically.

"Oh, ten minutes tops," I surmise. Actually, I have no idea, but figure ten minutes is enough time to dig the essence of Jeff. We plop ourselves down in a corner booth complete with fake red leather upholstery, and briefly give each other the eye.

Immediately, Jeff whips out his camera. "Come one, give me a real smile," he implores.

But my front teeth are badly in need of repair, I'm reluctant to grin widely. At last he relents, sets the camera on the formica table, and our conversation begins.

Jeff Pulver became interested in the Internet back in 1993 when one word domains littered the landscape and Microsoft was a fresh oyster waiting to be cracked. Greater minds than I have recounted his tehnological accomplishments. Jeff harkens his humble beginnings to Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheets, although for a technological illiterate like me, he might as well have said punch cards. His latest venture is an engaging aggregator of publicly available primetime television shows, aptly dubbed Primetimerewind.tv. The project is brand spanking new, still working out kinks, but already showing some promise. Unlike similar portals, it operates through remote embedding and is therefore akin to a traffic driver rather than stealer, at least as envisioned by Jeff.

But I want the juice. Why all the get togethers? Jeff, who is based in New York, travels great distances to pull off meets in different cities. What's in it for him?

"I suppose you could call it the Gatsby effect," he begins.

"What? Wanting to be the center of other people's world?" I am truly confused.

"No," Jeff counters, "more like creating something positive from bringing people together."

"How so?," I ask. "Give me a specific example."

"I'll give you two," he responds. "Dave and Ann over there met on my Internet show and now they've launched a new company. And at a recent cocktail reception, I was able to connect friends with a high tech start-up to venture capital."

Very cool. So, Jeff is a people person. Someone who experiences happiness by making other people happy. Let's face facts. It's not everyone who can assemble a crowd of impressive social media types.

"When did you first recognize your talent for making large-scale events happen?" This is an answer I can't wait to hear.

"I began as a D.J. playing parties and dances back in high school."

"High school? Where?"

"Great Neck North, Long Island, New York."

"Graduated?"

"1980," Jeff responds. My mind immediately shifts to disco.

"So, come on," I press. "as the D.J. you're the center of attention. You control the party. Wasn't it all a ruse to become popular? "

"No," Jeff disagrees with my interpretation again. "I look at it as an outsider coming into the inside."

Jeff Pulver an outsider? How can this be? "Jeff, are you married?"

"I've been married 18-1/2 years."

"Children?"

"Twin sons. Ages 14."

"Would you describe yourself as a person who is active in your local community?"

"No, not exactly," Jeff responds. "My community is the Internet. This is where I make my connections."

Looking around, even though the diner had definitely thinned out, I was struck by Jeff's ability to turn a "loose connection of pipes and tubes" into his own personal playground. I knew some of the people in attendance, but others I did not. Yet, all of them, in one way or another, were connected to Jeff. My ten minutes were winding down.

"If you had to sum up the reasons behind your success -- professionally, socially -- in three sentences or less, what would you say?"

"Fearlessness."

"Passion. Everyone needs to be passionate about something."

"And titanium balls."

Whoa. Nads of steel?

"Can I quote you," I ask?

"Sure. Go ahead."

I thank Jeff for his time and interesting insights. As soon as he pops up from the table to land with a lingering group nearby, for lack of a better title, Jeff's right-hand man, Geo Geller, ambles by. Geo is tall, lanky, and slightly quirky, a perfect fit with our surroundings. He is clad in a black beret, white jacket, and flaming red scarf. Long white hair, white beard, and white moustache complete the ensemble.

Geo is a true man of mystery, an artist/photographer/film maker, who delights in obfuscation. No matter how hard I try, I cannot pin this man down for a straight answer.

"Who is Jeff Pulver?" I query.

"Jeff is me," Geo replies. "I am the original Jeff, the original party organizer. Then I turned the reins over to him. I am the best respresentative of both of us when I am not you."

Okay. Left field. But getting back to Jeff. Can I dig any more dirt?

"Everything is a self-portrait," Geo posits. "A contradiction on the contradicting mystery man." Just at that moment, his iphone goes off. Man, I hate those things. A constant reminder of my aversion to new tech.

"Here, talk to this guy," he says handing off the phone my way. "He'll tell you who I am."

I follow his directives and burst into loud laughter. "I think he just called you a dirty tall white man. Any response?" Boy, is this interview off track.

"Insanity is a refuge from sanity. There's a fine line between mental illness and artistic talent." I think Geo is right on and nod my head in agreement. "To be a successful artist," he continues, "you need a certain amount of sensitivity. If you're mentally ill, you're too sensitive. That's why I volunteer at a mental health facility. To reconcile the two."

Love chipping away the mystery man's veneer. Geo's card labels him an insultant for hire. What other words of wisdom can I extract before I go?

"I am always comfortable wherever I am."

"I am responsible for all things irresponsible."

Drat. Back to the gobbledy-gook. Pity that, especially since we seemed to be developing some kind of a rapport.

Wrapping up my time at the diner, I learn more about Geo's creative talents. Online exhibitions featuring sound photo portraits. Another exhibit Geo calls the "Invisble Man Series" transforms out of focus or obscured images of his mother into the focus of the camera.

I hope he doesn't mind me borrowing a mirrored image of him with his mom. I cannot resist. The portrait is stunning. Raw. Real.

Okay, it's time to rip off the social tags and name badge, and hit the road. The diner employees want to lock up and go home. Geo quickly snaps some pictures of me as I get up to leave.

Oh he's good, this one. Out of focus, my front teeth never looked better.

Ten days in Seattle (part 1)

We were just in Seattle visiting family (oldest son N, daughter-in-law T, middle son A, girlfriend E. The occasion was to meet N&T's new baby, our first grandchild. Babycakes is fabulously adorable at five weeks old, and we had a terrific time helping out around the house and taking care of her. The delicious-looking veggies above were knitted for Babycakes by the very talented E. One rattles, one crackles—all are pleasingly soft and cuddly.

I could talk all day and night about the scrumtious baby but, this is a vegan food blog, and Seattle is a vegan's paradise so the rest of the posts concerning Seattle will be about food. The nature of the trip was more home-cooking than restaurant-going, but we did manage a few ventures out with Babycakes in tow. We cooked from this blog and others and even watched a cooking show that should result in a carrot cake at some future date. There were restaurant foods that I want to reproduce at home, too, but that will have to wait.
First, a little back story. With all the snow we've had, we encountered problems with a leaking porch roof. Then, two days before departure, a downstairs front room began dripping from the ceiling. We called our roofer who said water had leaked in from the porch roof. We called a house remodeling and roofing company who said it was from an ice dam. Both said it would have to drip out and then we could do repairs but not to worry. Ha. I wanted to stay home until it was resolved but Ken convinced me to go and he would follow as soon as possible. The night before departure we were in bed and I said, "did you hear that?" Ken said, "I didn't hear anything." I said, "I heard a ker-plunk." He ran downstairs and called me immediately to see that a large part of the ceiling had fallen and water was dripping many places other than in the buckets I had arranged in the room. We cleaned up the mess as best we could. All the furniture was already in the living room and hall, the rug was a disaster. Ken called the insurance company. In the morning, after taking me to the airport, he called our plumber for advice and a disaster recovery company was suggested. They discovered a slowly leaking pipe in the wall coming from the upstairs bathroom. The plumber came and fixed the pipe, the leak stopped and the disaster people set up air and infrared machines, or whatever, to dry out the ceiling and kill the mold. Ken left on Tuesday and the machines were removed on Thursday. Whew. What a mess. Guess we won't be having company for a while.

Friday, my first day in Seattle, I made a batch of ginger bars . For dinner we had some delicious leftover vegan paella that T's mom had made when she visited, and froze. She doesn't use recipes so I can't provide one but it tasted great. The next day I baked "Outrageously Easy BIG Bread" from vegweb. I found a link to the recipe on my friend Claire's blog. I pretty much followed the recipe except I used half whole wheat instead of all-purpose flour. It was as easy as described and had a nice texture and taste, but it was a little too salty for me. It was so easy that I began to wonder why I use a bread machine at home. (Just kidding-I know why...)

Seriously, it was really easy. I think using hot water made the dough form much more quickly than cool water does. Kneading it was no problem - I wanted the dough to be kneadable, but still soft. I also wanted to use less yeast and have it rise longer. This fits into my schedule better as I was able to let it rise as long as I wanted until I was ready to form the loaves. It also improves the texture. As long as you use a big bowl, you can pretty much let it rise as long as you want. I think I left it at least four hours on one of the rises. I baked the bread two more times in Seattle and again today at home and changed it a little each time. The original recipe can be ready in two hours but I prefer my version. I use three cups whole wheat flour for the first addition and three cups unbleached (or one cup whole wheat and two cups unbleached) for the second. I use one scant tablespoon of yeast, two scant teaspoons of salt and 1/4 cup of olive oil. I use enough flour to make a soft but kneadable dough and knead it briefly right in the bowl. I cover the bowl with plastic wrap and a towel, let it rise, punch it down, let it rise again then form the loaves. I let the loaves rise about 1/2 hour or until double. I preheat the oven to 475˚ and bake the loaves on a stone. I bake for four minutes and then turn the oven down to 350˚ and bake for about 25 minutes. This is a very soft and delicious bread. Today I made it with caraway seeds but I want to try adding kalamata olives next time. The instructions from the link "Outrageously Easy BIG Bread" are very complete so there's no need to repeat them here.

That night for dinner I made braised greens with tofu, cashews, and raisins over polenta. I love this recipe. T doesn't like raisins so I used dried apricots instead. I made a double recipe which served five big eaters generously and provided lunch for three. I put my youngest son, J, to work making steamed carrots flavored with dill and a small amount of sugar and olive oil. No one could resist the bread so we had that too.

NY Easter Sunday "Hat" Parade

I was in New York City this weekend, and had a chance to see the annual Easter Sunday "Hat" parade that takes place on 5th Avenue and 50th. The police close down the street and thousands of people come to see this annual festivity.

All images shot with the K20D and my favorite lens - the 31mm Limited. I shot in RAW at IS0 400, at apertures of f/4.5 and f.5.6. Due to the lighting conditions primarily on the subjects faces, I was using exposure compensation on most of these shots of +.5 to +1.0. All images converted from PEF in Adobe Camera Raw 4.4 and PhotoShop "as shot" and converted to JPEGs for uploading here. I did throw in one politically relevant image, and I was very impressed with the patriotic madam in the last photo, as it was a very cold day here!

Vegetable soup with chipotle and lime

Time for dinner and I didn't feel like cooking. The dog had awakened me the night before at 2 a.m. acting like she wanted to go out. I held her off until 3:30, when I put her in the bathtub and told her to pee. She seemed entertained but unwilling, so I finally forced myself downstairs and out into the frozen blackness so she could relieve herself. Ugh. She went happily back to sleep, but I didn't. After a full day of work, here it was, time for dinner and I was really tired, but very hungry, since I'd had a skimpy lunch.

I peered into the refrigerator. My husband has a weird habit of not using things up. For example, he'll almost finish a bottle of shampoo and then start another one. In the kitchen, he'll leave five brussels sprouts or a small handful of green beans in a bag. I'll find two or more almost empty bottles of pickles or salsa, sometimes different brands. He never uses these things and eventually I'll find little bags of rotting veggies, or crusted jars, in the back of the fridge. Does this condition have a name?

I used to have great dreams of finding extra rooms that I didn't know about in our house. Now, in front of the refrigerator, I was having daydreams (not of finding extra shelves and bins), of finding a leftover I'd forgotten was there. As in, "Oh! There's a pan of shiitake, green onion and tofu ricotta lasagna left over from yesterday. I could eat that!" What I actually saw was half a large onion, a small piece of green pepper, the remains of a cauliflower, an orphaned baby bok choy, a container of leftover chipotle peppers in adobo - and some pressure-cooked white beans. Could be worse. Sigh. Might as well make soup again, I thought. I could add some wine and bread a la Tuscan stew.

I peeled and chopped two big carrots, the pepper, the onion and the cauliflower. I sauteed them in a little olive oil until they softened a bit, and added a half cup of red wine and let it cook gently for eight minutes. Then I added three chipotle peppers (this makes a very spicy soup) and chopped them into the veggies with a spoon. I measured the bean liquid at one quart so I added it to the pot with two more cups of water, and the beans. I brought the soup to a boil, reduced the heat and added the chopped greens and a half cup of frozen corn. I also threw in a half teaspoon of salt and the rest of a stale sourdough baguette (about two cups cut into chunks - If you don't want to add bread, you could add cooked pasta or rice.). Last in was a splash of lime juice. (This would be about the juice of half a lime for those clever enough to have fresh limes in the refrigerator) Top with chopped scallions, if you have them. If you don't want the soup to be spicy, use some smoked Spanish paprika instead of the chipotle. Considering the small amount of time and effort expended, the result was very successful.

U.S. Pentax Student Program

I thought I'd give my fellow Pentaxians a heads-up, so no one thinks this April 1 announcement is an April Fools joke.

We're starting a Pentax Student Program. The first semester of this program runs between April 1 and June 30. The program offers full-time photography educators and full-time students taking photography courses at accredited institutions in the U.S. (high schools, colleges and universities) rebates on both the K20D and K200D, as well as various lenses and accessories.

I have provided a link below to the pdf, which just came off the press, if anyone wants to check-out the program.


Pentax Student Program pdf

Fake Paparazzi for the Insanely Infamous

The Today Show ran a segment this morning about some positively revolting practice involving ordinary folk and fake paparazzi. It's bad enough that someone is peddling their services as fake paparazzi, but so much sicker that some mad pathetic losers are actually buying it.



For a corporate event or someone's B'ar Mitzvah, okay, okay, I get it. But the women on Today, who were simply out for a night on the town, got their jollies by acting like somebody famous with an entourage. At the end of the segment, one of them giggled like a school girl as a fairly nice-looking guy at the bar tried to guess her identity. I think these posers may have hired a limousine service and fake bodyguards for full effect, but truthfully, I was so nauseated after the first fifteen seconds, I tuned out.

Now to top everything off, we have bloggers coining and analyzing this demeaning and demented phenomenon, as if token respectability could make this freak show any more palatable. Have we really sunk so low as a culture that reality shows are no longer good enough vehicles for everyone's fifteen minutes of fame? At what point do such troubling developments cross the line of "having fun" and enter the realm of insanity?

Ah, the good old days. When being followed by crazy insane photographers was the price of fame for real celebrities. Now non-celebrities have priced fame as crazy insane photographers following them. In the future, when everyone will have their own personal paparazzo, there'll be no one left to hound the real celebrities. They'll be the ones with hats and sunglasses walking down the street so quickly, they won't even blip the radar.

In the not so distant future, ordinary people will be too busy scanning the wannabes to notice the real deal. Which is good because finally, real celebrities will get to shop in the malls and buy their own groceries.

ShrewdLease Evaluator Saves Time and Money

Some people insist on leasing rather than owning a vehicle. I could never figure out why until I got married. My husband is one of these people who likes to trade in a vehicle every year or every other year. Rarely has he kept a new vehicle for more than three years. For someone like him, leasing makes perfect sense.

People who prefer to lease should be able to compare lease terms. Sadly, most people never get that far. They just see a car they like, decide the monthly payments are affordable, and sign on the dotted line.

But, leasing a vehicle is so much more than plunking down money on a vehicle you won't own. It's crucial to understand lease terms and what makes the terms of one leasing agreement better or worse than another. That's where the Vehical Lease Evaluator of ShrewdLease steps in.

The Evaluator is fairly straight forward and easy to use. It begins,

A Shrewdlease evaluation can be made on any brand new automobile offered under the industry normal terms of a 'closed end lease'.

We suggest you have a lease ad from a newspaper or magazine, an offer from a dealer, a preliminary or completed lease agreement, or firm numbers from a leasing company on hand, upon which the evaluation can be made.

If you're serious about leasing, you should enter a valid e-mail address when prompted. Then continue to use the Evaluator in ten easy steps.

Enter the MSRP (manufacturer's suggested retail price) for step one. Step two requires the total due at signing. The monthly payment amount is step three. Enter the lease period for step four. Annual mileage allowance is step five. Then the capital cost for step six. "Option to purchase" price at the end of the lease is step seven. Then enter the number of months for the manufacturer's warranty period. Step nine is the excess mileage charge. Voila. You're done. The Evaluator synthesizes all the information and provides an informed opinion in step ten.

If your lease does not provide information for any of the required steps, simply leave that particular step blank and continue forward. Also, if your lease provides the information in a way that requires calculation, there's a handy calculator that pops in a second window throughout the process.

Despite my best efforts to keep my PC virus free, I'm afraid something is slowing it down. Yes, we've looked at it, run debugging programs, installed firewalls, the works, still, it doesn't run quite right. This could account for the more than three minutes it took for the Evaluator to move ahead to step ten.

When I was done clicking each field to verify the numbers, it was time to validate. The validation is a good device because it will prompt you to correct any inadvertent errors. If everything is in order, just click "calculate" and wait.

This time the waiting period was almost instantaneous. Unfortunately, the lease I wanted to evaluate scored quite low on the ShrewdLease scale. Which basically means the deal was a bad one and I should try to get a better deal from the leasing company. Or look for something better.

That's good because ShrewdLease just happens to have a leasing forum with available offers. And it clearly pledges lack of an affiliation with any particular manufacturer, dealer, or banking institution. So, one can assume the site provides unbiased lease offers. If you're still dubious, just return to evaluate another lease of your own choosing.

As an extra bonus, there is a FAQ section for problematic leases that don't quite fit the mold, plus a contact link for especially difficult issues and questions.

I would recommend the Evaluator to anyone who is considering leasing a vehicle. The steps are simple and easy to navigate. The end evaluation can save you big bucks. Also, you don't need to give a real e-mail address to make use of it, a big plus for paranoid people such as myself who are deathly afraid of spammed e-mail accounts.

But isn't that what gmail is for?

Resume Requirement for New York Governors

For the record, from this day forth, all candidates for Governor of the Great State of New York must be married and must cheat on their spouse.



And for the record, I want to hurl every time I see a cuckquean spouse looking on with doe eyes as her bastard politician spouse purges an admission of his transgressions in the blare of flashing cameras.

Cauliflower and potato curry

I usually cook fairly low-fat dishes and would probably use only half the fat called for in this recipe. However, I have on occasion used the full amount to fantastic effect. I love low-fat food and think it tastes great, and you can make this dish low fat. I'm going to list the full amount in the recipe and let you decide. The original recipe calls for ghee, but I substitute olive oil and vegan margarine, or just oil. The margarine gives it a richer taste. If this is going to be only one part of a meal, I use only veggies, but if I intend it as the main (or only) dish for a simple supper, I may add chick peas. It's based on a recipe from "Lord Krishna's Cuisine The Art of Indian Vegetarian Cooking" by Yamuna Devi. This is a seriously amazing book - not vegan but adaptable. This is a fairly simple dish to prepare and one of my favorites.

Cauliflower and potato curry
-2 hot green chilies, stemmed, seeded and cut lengthwise into long slivers
-1 inch of fresh ginger root, peeled and julienned
-1 teaspoon cumin seeds
-1/2 teaspoon black mustard seeds
-2 tablespoons olive oil and 2 tablespoons margarine
-3 medium potatoes, peeled and cut in 1/2 inch cubes
-1 medium cauliflower cored and cut into small flowerets
-2 medium sized tomatoes (in season) or 1 can chopped tomatoes, drained (reserve liquid)
-1/2 teaspoon tumeric
-2 teaspoons ground coriander
-1/2 teaspoon garam masala
-1 teaspoon brown sugar
-1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh coriander or parsley
Heat the oil/margarine in a large heavy skillet, non-stick skillet or wok until hot but not smoking. Add the chilies, ginger, cumin seeds and mustard seeds and fry until the mustard sputters and pops. Add the potatoes and cauliflower and stir fry about 5 minutes until the veggies get some brown spots.

Add the tomatoes, turmeric,coriander,garam masala,sugar,salt and half the fresh coriander. Stir well, cover and cook over low heat for about 20 minutes or until the veggies are tender. Stir occasionally during cooking and make sure the veggies aren't sticking or burning. Add some reserved tomato juice or water if necessary. Garnish with reserved cilantro.
serves 5 or 6

The Guinness Tipping Pot

Must be how a St. Paddy's Day hangover feels.

WIRED Review of K20D

WIRED posted the following article on March 18th:
"Sharp Shooters: Four Fantastic Prosumer DSLR Cams, Tested and Rated", By Jackson Lynch

We like the way author Lynch starts his review by saying...Often overshadowed by the bigger, more boisterous brands, the Pentax K20D distinguishes itself as "the little camera that could..."
Here's link to the complete article:

WIRED Four Fantastic Prosumer DSLR Cams, Tested and Rated

Obama Emerges as Only Candidate to Advocate for More Perfect Union

History was made today.

For better or worse, March 18, 2008, the day the green began to seep away from his hometown of Chicago River, will be marked in history as the day when the first credible African-American presidential candidate and Democratic party frontrunner refused to ignore the 800 pound gorilla in the room, but rather, confronted a beast that refuses to release its stranglehold on America, powerfully and with dignity.

A day when a black man afforded every privilege of America, private schooling, elite colleges, a seat in the United States Senate, took the sum of his parts and rather than try to sweep them under the rug or bamboozle the crowd with snake oil, stripped those parts bare and naked, and said, "This is who I am."

Just words? I think not. "Not this time."

Whatever happened to "Don't judge, lest ye be judged?" What about, "Walk a mile in my shoes?" Did we really want to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony, or was that just another Madison Avenue come on to sell cases of Coca-Cola? Does anybody here remember my old friend John? Martin? Bobby? When peaceful protest could bring about profound changes in our society, our legal system, and in our hearts?

What's happened to us since then, America?

I'll tell you what. The daisy ad. Riots. Death. The National Guard. Black Panthers. Disillusionment. Lost wars. J. Edgar Hoover. Watergate. Presidential pardons. Distrust. Hostages. Nicaragua. Weapons deals. Waco. Bin Laden. 9/11.

All around us, public schools continue to fail, the economy is in shambles, homelessness is increasing, diseases and disorders are on the rise. More senseless murder. Gangs. We sit and watch the sound bites, click off the TV and hope it all goes away.

No, it isn't going away.

It's part of who we've become, America, whether we wanted to or not, it's who we are. And sure, thank goodness, good human decency is still in large supply. We are still a fairly prosperous nation, a generous people, and for the most part, free. But this isn't the America we imagined for ourselves and our children back in those heady days of the 1960s when almost anything seemed within our grasp. Back when Americans looked at themselves with pride and accomplishment, as the greatest nation in the world, when we envisioned a future realizing a dream that began on a lonely bus seat in Selma, Alabama.

What's happened to us since then?

We've become beaten and dispirited because nothing ever changes. The politicians promise and talk and tell us how our lives will be so much better when we put them into office. And we believe and pull the lever because, honestly, what choice do we have? They're all the same. Just a different package. We hope this time it will be different. But it rarely is. Because most of them are in the business of politics for themselves, not the people, we've all seen this show before.

But once in a while, maybe once in a lifetime, that rare candidate comes along. The one who, yes, chooses his words oh so carefully, but whose message basically stays the same. The one who tells you up front what he plans to do, and you may not agree with those plans, may not want the implementation of those plans, but at least you know what the plans are. The rare candidate who doesn't parade his skeletons in the closet, but when those skeletons come out to play, doesn't ignore them either or hope they'll eventually dance away.

A candidate who picks up the broken shards of hopes and dreams, before the bullets shattered them into a million pieces, who holds the shards up to the light and says, "We can make America great, but first we must find a way to come together, and if you give me that chance, I will show you the way."

A candidate with the audacity to hope because once hope is gone, there's no realistic chance of making anything different. A candidate who goes against the flow, who doesn't look at things the way they are and ask, "Why?" But who looks at things the way they could be and asks, "Why not?"

We've been down this road before, America, so many times. We're so beaten and disillusioned, we dare not believe, "Why not?" because nothing ever changes, the politicians are all the same, they just come in different packages.

Well, not today, America. Today, a candidate said, "Not this time. This time we talk about it." We talk about that 800 pound gorilla in the room. We don't dust it off, slap a suit on it, and throw a hand organ in its arms. No, today we look at it just the way it is, with its ugly hairy face, smelly breath and nasty behind, and we talk. "This union may never be perfect, but generation after generation has shown that it can always be perfected," a candidate said today. "A single moment of recognition between [a] young white girl and [an] old black man," that is where this candidate begins.

We can focus on what divides us and lament the wasted promise of the past, or we can face our past head on and come together in the future. This is what can happen for us, America. This is what we can become. If America truly strives for greatness, it cannot remain a place of "us against them." America must fulfill the dream and become the place of "we."

Today is the day when "we" get a second chance.

Read the complete transcript of Barack Obama's "More Perfect Union" Speech here and listen with the full audio file .